HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 1 Discussion
1. Was the United States or the Soviet Union responsible for the advent of the Cold War? Why?
2. What historical event signifies the beginning of the Cold War? Why?
3. Did Harry Truman take the correct stance with his containment policy? Why or why not?
4. What threat did the Communist regime in Cuba have on the United States?
5. What effect did the arms race and the policy of brinkmanship have on the world?  Did it actually make the world safer?
6. What effect did the Cold War have on everyday life in the United States?
7. What lasting effects of the Cold War do we still live with today?
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 2 Discussion
1. What aspects of post World War II America shaped the issues that arose in the 1950s?
2. Was the Eisenhower Doctrine effective?
3. Explain the results and the reason for them in the Presidential Election of 1952.
4. President Eisenhower in his Inaugural Address lists a set of fixed principles we possess as a nation.  Are we still guided by these principles today?
5. Brown v. Board of Education is known as landmark Supreme Court case.  Justify its relevance by discussing historical events leading up to the discussion and its impact.  Be sure to include commentary about the Southern Manifesto.
6. What was Eisenhower’s point of view on Senator McCarthy? Was he justified?
7. After watching the video lecture from William Hitchcock, explain the impact of the Eisenhower Presidency.
8. What impact did the television have on society, economics, and politics during the 1950s?
9. How did the changing culture in the 1950s affect the upbringing of children and adolescents during this period?
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 3 Discussion
1. What was the lasting impact of Kennedy’s space program?
2. Analyze the impact of U.S. involvement in Cuba.
3. Analyze the impact of U.S. involvement in Korea.
4. Does the image of President John F. Kennedy outshine the reality?
5. Should Kennedy have risked nuclear war to remove missiles from Cuba?
6. Should a President be permitted to conduct a covert foreign policy? Use JFK as a case study.
7. Is secrecy more important than the public’s right to know the foreign policy? Use the Bay of Pigs invasion as a case study.
8. Should the President be allowed to wage war without Congressional authorization? Use Korea as a case study.
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 4 Discussion
1. Assess the impact of Civil Rights legislation.
2. Do individuals have the right to break the law in order to show dissent in their relation with the government?  (Use the 1960s as a case study)
3. What impact did Betty Friedan’s Femine Mystique have on the Civil Rights movement?
4. What impact did Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham’s Jail and his infamous “I have a Dream Speech” have on the Civil Rights Movement?
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 5 Discussion
1. Explain the ramifications of the Tet Offensive.
2. Compare and contrast the Vietnam policies of JFK, LBJ, and Richard Nixon.
3. What lasting impact did the Vietnam War have on American foreign policy?
4. After reading the 9 Rules, assess their implementation by U.S. personnel involved in Vietnam.
5. Assess the expansion of powers given to President Johnson with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
6.  Assess the view the public had of the American soldier in Vietnam especially after the Mai Lai Massacre.  Was this a fair representation?
7. Analyze the impact of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War on American society.
8. Analyze the impact of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War on the American soldier
9.  Should the President be allowed to wage war without Congressional authorization.  (Use the Vietnam War as a case study.) 
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 6 Discussion
1. Analyze the causes and consequences of the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
2. Discuss the meaning of stagflation and its impact.
3. Analyze Nixon’s policies towards China.  Were they effective?
4. Analyze Nixon’s policies towards the Soviet Union.  Were they effective?
5. Was the Watergate Scandal a sign of strength or weakness in the U.S. system of government?
6. Explain the significance of the energy crisis that Carter faced in the 1970s.  Was he effective at resolving it?
7. Phyllis Schlafy openly discussed the demerits of feminism.  Do you agree or disagree with her? Explain.
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 7 Discussion
1. What was the impact on society as a result of the Reagan Revolution?
2. After watching Ronald Reagan’s Evil Empire speech, what is your reaction? 
3. After watching Reagan’s Tear Down that Wall Speech, explain whether or not the U.S. won the Cold War?
4. Explain the impact of the moral majority on elections in the 1980s?
5. Analyze the effectiveness of Trickle Down economics, also known as Reaganomics.
6. Was the U.S. justified in intervening in liberating Kuwait after its invasion from Iraqi forces?
HIST365 Recent America 1945 to the Present
Week 8 Discussion
1. Does the media have too much influence over public opinion?
2. Should the U.S. fight preemptive wars?
3. After studying the election of 2000, should the U.S. reassess its process for electing the President?
4. After watching the video of Bill Clinton addressing the country, should the President be impeached for moral/ ethical indiscretions?
5. Analyze the impact of 9/11 on American domestic policies.
6. Analyze the impact of 9/11 on American foreign policies.
7. Should the U.S. use military force to promote democracy such as was done in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East?
8. Should the U.S. use economic sanctions to further democracy and human rights?
9. Can global terrorism be stopped?